The Khentkawes Town (KKT) - Ancient Egypt Research Associates

www.aeraweb.org
Saqqara Laser Scanning Survey 2008
by Yukinori Kawae, Kosuke Sato, Hiroyuki Kamei, Tomoaki Nakano, and Ichiroh Kanaya
Introduction
In 2007 an Egyptian construction company under the
supervision of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities
(SCA) began to restore both the interior and exterior of
Egypt’s oldest pyramid, the Step Pyramid at Saqqara, built
around 2,700 BC for the 3 rd Dynasty king with the Horus
name Netjerykhet, more frequently called Djoser.
Prior to this restoration work, a French architect, Dr.
Bruno Deslandes, carried out three-dimensional surveys
and radar investigations of parts of the step pyramid. The
restoration of monuments is necessary in site management,
but subtle archaeological features can vanish with
restoration. It is therefore imperative to record the present
state of the monument in as detailed a manner as possible
before any restoration work is carried out.
In 2006, Ancient Egypt Research Associates, led by
Dr. Mark Lehner, collaborated with Tokyo Institute of
Technology, Gangoji Institute, Osaka University, and
Tohoku University of Art and Design to establish the
Giza Laser Scanning Survey (GLSS). The team eventually
produced a detailed three-dimensional model of the tomb
of Queen Khentkawes [I] at Giza and also of the Worker’s
Cemetery located above AERA’s HeG site.
Those projects prompted Dr. Zahi Hawass, the
Secretary General of the SCA, to request the GLSS team
Figure 55. The Djoser Step Pyramid at Saqqara under the restoration work, northeast side. Photo by Yukinori Kawae. View to the
southwest.
Giza Occasional Papers 4 63